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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — of water
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spring — a coil
  6. scale — in music
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — money
  9. land — to come down
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. land — ground
  13. cap — of ice
  14. capital — a city
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rock — a stone
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rock — music
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — to move gently

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