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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 124 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rash — hasty
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. clip — a video
  8. stem — to come from
  9. deal — to handle
  10. content — the amount
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — for paper
  16. capital — a city
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — to cut
  20. suit — clothes
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. march — the month
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — a stem cell

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