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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. cell — in biology
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bat — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. roll — a list
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. roll — a cake
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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