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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — letters
  7. bank — for money
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — from a university
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bank — of a river
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

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