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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fall — to drop
  3. last — final
  4. cap — a lid
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — to go on
  9. net — for catching
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. last — finally
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fall — to drop
  15. net — after costs
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cap — of ice
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. current — electric
  22. cap — a hat
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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