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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — money
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stem — to come from
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. land — ground
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — a country
  17. march — music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. staff — employees
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. staff — a stick
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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