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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spell — a short time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stem — to come from
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fall — the season
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spell — magic
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. capital — a city
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. squash — the vegetable

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