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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. file — a line of people
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rule — government
  7. scale — size or range
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — in music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. rule — a law
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. capital — money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rule — to rule out
  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