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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. stem — to come from
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. row — a line
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. row — to paddle
  19. plane — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. dip — to dunk

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