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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · date · stem · wind · cap · bowl

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cap — a lid
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kick — in football
  6. date — the fruit
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — of ice
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish

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