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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fork — in a road
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — money
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bass — the fish
  23. staff — a stick
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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