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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. tube — a container
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. capital — a city
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — rain
  12. capital — money
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bank — of a river
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bat — for baseball

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