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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. band — a ring
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stem — to come from
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. last — finally
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. last — to go on
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. march — the month
  16. last — final
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. capital — money

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