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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. stem — to come from
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cap — of ice
  13. toast — bread
  14. prune — to trim
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. bat — the animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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