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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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. prune — to trim
  6. track — a song
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. firm — steady
  10. capital — money
  11. track — a path
  12. firm — decided
  13. last — to go on
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — final
  16. track — to keep track
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stem — to come from
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. firm — a company
  24. prune — to trim

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