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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — a container
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kid — child
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lean — thin
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mate — a partner
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — to bend
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a city
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tube — the underground
  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