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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — a group
  4. lean — thin
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — for dancing
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitch — completely
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — money
  14. tube — the underground
  15. club — for golf
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. date — the fruit

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