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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — money
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a match
  7. club — a group
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spell — a short time
  10. club — for golf
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. land — to come down
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spell — letters
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — magic
  19. land — ground
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. land — a country
  23. club — for dancing
  24. ruler — for measuring

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