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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stem — to come from
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chest — a box
  14. bound — certain
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. scale — in music
  21. kick — in football
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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