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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. board — a committee
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — to come from
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chip — for betting
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. board — to get on
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pass — a permit
  19. chip — to eat
  20. season — in sport
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pass — to succeed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com