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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rule — government
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pitch — completely
  9. rule — a law
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. shower — to wash
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — rain
  23. can — a tin
  24. stem — of a plant

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