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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. capital — money
  10. mate — a friend
  11. face — to point toward
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. field — a subject
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wake — a trail
  18. face — to confront
  19. scale — in music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. stem — to come from

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