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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wax — to grow
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. chip — for betting
  21. hand — help
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. chip — in a computer

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