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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — of a king
  4. stem — to come from
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. capital — a city
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. ball — a dance
  18. snap — to click
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ball — a great time
  22. court — of law
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. coach — a trainer

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