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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. track — a path
  7. capital — money
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — a song
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. clip — for paper
  12. club — a group
  13. capital — a city
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stem — to come from
  16. club — for golf
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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