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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. firm — decided
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. firm — a company
  12. perch — the fish
  13. firm — steady
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fall — the season
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hand — in cards
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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