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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. stem — to come from
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pound — a weight
  7. march — the month
  8. can — to be able to
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. can — a tin
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. march — music
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. can — a tin
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bat — the animal
  21. capital — money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. capital — a city

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