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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. chip — for betting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fine — all right
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fine — high quality
  24. racket — for tennis

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