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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. key — for a lock
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. key — the most important part
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a music group
  15. key — in music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a city

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