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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — a city
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pop — soda
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. craft — boats
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. drill — army training
  18. bear — the animal
  19. capital — money
  20. craft — a skill
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mark — a trace
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. capital — a big letter

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