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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. degree — from a university
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — of water
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spring — a coil
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stem — to come from
  22. scale — in music
  23. spring — the season
  24. deal — a big deal

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