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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stem — to come from
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. content — the amount
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. pound — a weight
  20. content — happy
  21. capital — money
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. content — videos and posts

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