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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. season — in sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pass — a permit
  11. season — of the year
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — money
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. cap — a hat

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