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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — a city
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. game — a match
  9. stock — shares
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bound — obliged
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — tied together
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. content — happy
  19. kick — in football
  20. game — wild animals
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. content — the amount
  24. stock — goods

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