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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. land — ground
  3. object — to protest
  4. can — a tin
  5. rest — a break
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. can — to be able to
  9. capital — a city
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — a short time
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. object — an aim
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stem — to come from
  16. object — a thing
  17. date — the fruit
  18. can — a tin
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. spell — magic
  22. capital — money
  23. spell — letters
  24. stem — of a plant

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