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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. mark — a trace
  7. current — electric
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. current — of water
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. current — happening now
  12. stem — to come from
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pit — in a race
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. saw — the tool

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