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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. firm — a company
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. firm — decided
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. capital — a city
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. firm — steady
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. leaves — to go away

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