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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. capital — money
  7. branch — a division
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a match
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. field — a subject
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — the season
  18. field — for sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — to come from
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — a kind of play

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