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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stem — to come from
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. band — a ring
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. capital — money
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. capital — a city
  19. band — a music group
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cap — of ice
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cap — a hat

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