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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mate — a friend
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — a city
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mate — a partner
  11. object — a thing
  12. pop — soda
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. can — to be able to
  15. press — to push
  16. object — an aim
  17. can — a tin
  18. press — a publisher
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pop — music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. object — to protest
  24. stem — to come from

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