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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pit — in a race
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a match
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. staff — employees
  11. field — farmland
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — for sport
  16. pit — a hole
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — a subject
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wound — an injury

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