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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. degree — an amount
  3. content — happy
  4. club — for dancing
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. firm — a company
  7. capital — a city
  8. club — a group
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. firm — steady
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — money
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. club — for golf
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. degree — from a university
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. firm — decided

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