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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. capital — a city
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — ground
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bank — for money
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. land — to come down
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — money
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. stem — to come from
  24. capital — a big letter

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