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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: wave · tube · stem · plane · bark · fall · snap · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stem — to come from
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. tube — the underground
  15. snap — to click
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fall — the season
  21. plane — a tool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tube — a container

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