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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. dip — to sink
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. capital — money
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. hand — help
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — happy
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stem — to come from

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