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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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