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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. kick — in football
  5. track — a song
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ball — a dance
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. capital — a city
  12. rash — a series
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rash — hasty
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. track — a path
  24. wave — with your hand

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