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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — farmland
  5. object — a thing
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — a subject
  8. rock — a stone
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. object — to protest
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stem — to come from
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. object — an aim
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rock — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. field — for sport
  23. capital — a city
  24. charge — in control

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