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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. key — in music
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — money
  7. present — a gift
  8. bass — the fish
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — of a king
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — there
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. present — the time now
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. field — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — for sport

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