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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. row — to paddle
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. march — music
  9. capital — money
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. row — a line
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mate — a partner
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — to bend

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