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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mug — a cup
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mug — a face
  9. capital — money
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. capital — a city

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