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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. suit — to fit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. suit — in cards
  4. cue — a hint
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kick — in football
  13. cue — for pool
  14. band — a music group
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. capital — a city
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a ring
  22. cue — a signal
  23. suit — clothes
  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