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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. track — a path
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. track — a song
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. capital — money
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rash — a series

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