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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stem — to come from
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mate — a partner
  14. kick — in football
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mate — to breed
  20. tear — to rip
  21. capital — money
  22. drill — army training
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. drill — the tool

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