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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ball — a great time
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — money
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stem — to come from
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. roll — a list
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ball — a dance
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stock — goods
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. cell — a phone
  24. hand — in cards

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