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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 124 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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cap — of ice
  4. land — ground
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. land — to come down
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. land — a country
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a great time
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a round shape

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