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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. capital — a city
  3. stem — to come from
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — the animal
  14. capital — money
  15. bound — tied together
  16. degree — from a university
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — government
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. dip — to sink

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