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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: present · club · toast · cap · lie · rest · kid · stem

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cap — of ice
  6. present — a gift
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rest — what's left
  10. present — there
  11. toast — bread
  12. cap — a lid
  13. present — the time now
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cap — a hat
  17. club — a group
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rest — a break
  21. kid — child
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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