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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. charge — in control
  4. pitch — completely
  5. root — of a plant
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. root — of a word
  20. charge — a price
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. root — the cause
  24. capital — money

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