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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. deal — to handle
  3. capital — a city
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stem — to come from
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. track — a path
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. track — a song
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — to keep track
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — ground

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