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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stem — to come from
  12. content — the amount
  13. band — a music group
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — money
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — happy
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fan — to cool the air

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