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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. foot — a measure
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. swing — to play on
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. mark — a trace
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bound — certain
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. hand — help
  23. swing — music
  24. tube — a container

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