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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. capital — a city
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bank — for money
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bank — of a river
  24. wax — to grow

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