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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 116 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: ruler · leaves · saw · cold · capital · cap · row · stem

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — a lid
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a line
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. saw — the tool
  7. row — to paddle
  8. capital — money
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — a city
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cold — not warm
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stem — to come from
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — an illness

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