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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. file — a line of people
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bound — certain
  15. pop — soda
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. file — a document
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pop — music
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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