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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — money
  4. deal — to handle
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. content — happy
  7. branch — a division
  8. clip — to cut
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. capital — a city
  11. root — the cause
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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