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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. track — a song
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. track — a path
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — to rip
  14. squash — the sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rock — a stone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. tear — from crying
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stem — to come from

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