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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rest — a break
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — what's left
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. content — happy
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a dance
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — obliged
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. content — the amount

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