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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. rush — hurry
  6. scale — in music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fork — in a road
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rock — music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. capital — money
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. capital — a city
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rock — a stone

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