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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: pitcher · march · cap · stem · fine · bore · bat · cold

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fine — high quality
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fine — all right
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — to come from
  24. march — music

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