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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. sharp — clever
  5. can — to be able to
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. can — a tin
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — money
  14. spring — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — of a word
  18. can — a tin
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stem — to come from

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