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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. court — of law
  8. deal — to handle
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. capital — money
  17. last — finally
  18. court — of a king
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. game — a match

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