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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — to paddle
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. row — a line
  8. ground — the earth
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. firm — decided
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — a city
  21. firm — steady
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. firm — a company

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