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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fall — the season
  3. key — in music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. key — the most important part
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fall — to drop
  11. key — for a lock
  12. root — the cause
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fall — to drop
  19. root — of a plant
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. root — of a word
  24. wind — moving air

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