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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stem — to come from
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. capital — money
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. scale — in music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. content — the amount
  14. scale — size or range
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. rest — a break
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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