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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — a gift
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. file — a tool
  6. present — the time now
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. capital — money
  19. present — there
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a document

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