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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. season — in sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chair — a leader
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — in music
  24. mouse — the animal

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