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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. key — the most important part
  5. capital — money
  6. land — a country
  7. fine — all right
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. land — ground
  12. file — a tool
  13. capital — a city
  14. fine — high quality
  15. file — a document
  16. key — in music
  17. stem — to come from
  18. key — for a lock

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