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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. ground — the earth
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stem — to come from
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. race — a contest
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a city

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