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

Word bank: cold · cap · chest · game · club · rock · stem · wake

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chest — a box
  7. game — a match
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. club — a group
  13. game — wild animals
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cold — not warm
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — a stone

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