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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bulb — for light
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — for light
  11. branch — a division
  12. rule — a law
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. capital — money
  22. rule — government
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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