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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wax — to grow
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. club — a group
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — employees
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — a city
  18. club — for golf
  19. stem — to come from
  20. club — for dancing
  21. capital — money
  22. staff — a stick
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pop — to visit

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