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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. court — of a king
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — goods
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. capital — money
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. board — to get on
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. capital — a city
  19. board — a committee
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — shares
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. court — for sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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