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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hand — in cards
  5. last — final
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. face — to confront
  8. mug — a cup
  9. face — part of the head
  10. last — to go on
  11. capital — a city
  12. fine — all right
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hand — help
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. last — finally
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a face
  23. stem — to come from
  24. fine — high quality

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