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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — to handle
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. can — a tin
  6. stem — to come from
  7. craft — a skill
  8. capital — money
  9. content — happy
  10. fall — the season
  11. clip — a video
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. capital — a city
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. can — to be able to
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stem — of a plant

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