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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. court — for sport
  3. spell — letters
  4. stem — to come from
  5. capital — money
  6. spell — magic
  7. object — to protest
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. object — a thing
  22. court — of law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. kick — a thrill

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