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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stem — to come from
  4. field — for sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. chest — a box
  9. rest — a break
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. field — a subject
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. hand — help
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — in cards

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