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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: fall · stem · firm · cap · ball · bat · cold · foot

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. firm — steady
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. firm — a company
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fall — the season
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ball — a great time
  22. firm — decided
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. stem — to come from

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