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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — a gift
  3. fall — the season
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pop — to visit
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — a city
  9. net — for catching
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — there
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. present — the time now
  14. pop — music
  15. key — in music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. key — for a lock
  18. net — after costs
  19. key — the most important part
  20. net — in sport
  21. capital — money
  22. pop — soda
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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