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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — in sport
  6. charge — in control
  7. season — of the year
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of law
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. charge — electricity
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — a measure
  22. capital — money
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. charge — a price

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