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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. snap — to click
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — for digging
  13. capital — money
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — letters
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. capital — a city

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