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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: toast · chest · stem · mark · leaves · bowl · pop · cap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — a lid
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. chest — a box
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pop — soda
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pop — music
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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