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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. staff — employees
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a city
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — a container
  18. chest — a box
  19. land — a country
  20. stem — to come from
  21. capital — money
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. land — to come down
  24. cabinet — ministers

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