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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bass — the fish
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. can — a tin
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — for paper
  22. deal — to handle
  23. capital — money
  24. can — a tin

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