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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. sharp — clever
  3. track — a path
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bulb — for light
  7. track — a song
  8. capital — money
  9. net — after costs
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bulb — for light
  12. net — in sport
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. face — to confront
  16. net — for catching
  17. track — to keep track
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — to point toward
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. game — a match
  23. sharp — exactly
  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