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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: stem · fall · swing · land · cap · bass · cell · game

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fall — the season
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — the fish
  13. land — to come down
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. swing — music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — wild animals
  18. swing — in golf
  19. land — a country
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — a hat

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