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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. key — the most important part
  5. stem — to come from
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. file — a line of people
  8. face — part of the head
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pop — to visit
  11. key — in music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. file — a document
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. face — to confront
  21. last — finally
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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