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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. rule — government
  7. vault — a safe
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rule — a law
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. capital — money
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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