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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. file — a tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. perch — the fish
  7. file — a line of people
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — from a university
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. snap — to click
  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