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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. capital — a city
  3. bat — the animal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. hand — in cards
  6. present — a gift
  7. stem — to come from
  8. can — a tin
  9. present — the time now
  10. can — a tin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — help
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. present — there
  24. capital — money

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