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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. stem — to come from
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — wild animals
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. capital — a city
  12. net — after costs
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. squash — the sport
  23. game — a match
  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