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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cap — of ice
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — a stone
  8. last — finally
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — final
  11. march — music
  12. rock — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — money
  16. key — for a lock
  17. march — the month
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. key — in music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a hat

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