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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — after costs
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. net — in sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — child
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. capital — a city
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chest — a box
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chest — of your body
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — to tease

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