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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. last — final
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — money
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. last — finally
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — a city
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. last — to go on
  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