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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rock — music
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. craft — boats
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rock — a stone
  15. craft — a skill
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stock — shares
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. cell — in biology

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