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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — a gift
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pop — music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — money
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. present — the time now
  16. pop — to visit
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pop — soda
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. present — there
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitch — a sports field

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