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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — for sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. content — happy
  6. court — of law
  7. deal — to handle
  8. key — for a lock
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. capital — a city
  11. content — the amount
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. key — in music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — a contest
  18. face — to point toward
  19. capital — money
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — of a king
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. key — the most important part

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