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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. object — an aim
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. stem — to come from
  10. capital — money
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. last — to go on
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. last — final
  17. capital — a city
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. last — finally
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. club — a group
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wake — a trail

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