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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mate — a partner
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mate — a friend
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. file — a tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — money
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. file — a document
  13. foot — a measure
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. capital — a city
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — help

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