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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lean — thin
  5. firm — steady
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — a company
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — money
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a big letter

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