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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bound — certain
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bound — tied together
  11. race — humankind
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bound — obliged
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kick — in football
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. scale — in music
  21. race — a contest
  22. stem — to come from
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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