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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — letters
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — a city
  8. lean — thin
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — money
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. land — a country
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. staff — a stick
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — to come down
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — to bend
  24. staff — employees

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