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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 120 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. file — a tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. file — a line of people
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. object — an aim
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a document
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stock — shares
  19. field — for sport
  20. stock — goods
  21. object — a thing
  22. field — a subject
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. object — to protest

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