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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. firm — steady
  5. spring — the season
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — a trail
  10. march — music
  11. capital — a city
  12. firm — a company
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — money
  19. firm — decided
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cell — in biology
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — a coil

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