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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — letters
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hand — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. suit — in cards
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — help
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. suit — to fit
  22. capital — money
  23. field — for sport
  24. stem — a stem cell

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