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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bound — certain
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. file — a tool
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bound — tied together
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bound — obliged
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — money
  19. net — after costs
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. file — a document
  22. net — in sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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