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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. season — of the year
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — happy
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — in sport
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bat — the animal
  24. saw — the tool

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