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

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — what's left
  4. club — a group
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a city
  7. rest — a break
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. club — for golf
  12. stem — to come from
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. capital — money
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. game — a match

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