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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a city
  11. stem — to come from
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. game — a match
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — final
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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