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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: pit · chest · stem · pop · bear · drill · rush · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — a box
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pop — music
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. drill — army training

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