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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ground — a position
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. capital — money
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — help
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — a city
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. nail — for a hammer

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