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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rule — government
  5. lean — thin
  6. current — happening now
  7. tear — to rip
  8. current — of water
  9. stem — to come from
  10. swing — music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — certain
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. current — electric
  18. bound — obliged
  19. rule — a law
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. lean — to rest against

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