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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stem — to come from
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. march — music
  10. cap — a hat
  11. season — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fine — high quality
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fine — all right
  24. stem — a stem cell

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