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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 120 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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. arm — a part of something
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. fall — the season
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — a city
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fall — to drop
  15. root — the cause
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. root — of a word
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. stem — to come from
  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