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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. spell — letters
  5. rash — a series
  6. chest — of your body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. spell — magic
  14. staff — employees
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chest — a box
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. staff — employees

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