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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. snap — to click
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. file — a document
  8. capital — money
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. capital — a city
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. file — a line of people
  14. foot — a measure
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

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