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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. club — a group
  5. last — to go on
  6. rock — music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. last — finally
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. capital — a city
  15. last — final
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mark — a trace
  18. capital — money
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stem — to come from

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