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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spell — a short time
  5. board — to get on
  6. capital — money
  7. season — of the year
  8. board — a committee
  9. face — to confront
  10. capital — a city
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pit — in a race
  13. season — in sport
  14. pit — a hole
  15. spell — letters
  16. stem — to come from
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spell — magic
  24. stem — a stem cell

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