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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — a short time
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spell — magic
  11. capital — a city
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — letters
  18. kid — child

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