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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. row — to paddle
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ground — a position
  7. tube — the underground
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tube — a container
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. track — a path
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — money
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. ground — the earth
  20. capital — a city
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. track — to keep track
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — in a prison

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