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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — money
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rock — music
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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