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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. capital — money
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. capital — a city
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tube — a container
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. branch — a division
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stem — a stem cell

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