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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — ground
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — a country
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. lean — to bend
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. capital — money
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. capital — a big letter

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