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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. snap — to click
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. band — a ring
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ground — crushed
  14. present — there
  15. ground — a position
  16. present — a gift
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. present — the time now
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. capital — money
  22. race — a contest
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stem — to come from

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