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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. capital — money
  3. present — a gift
  4. fork — in a road
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mug — a face
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. capital — a city
  21. present — there
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mug — to rob

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