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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 124 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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. ground — a position
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — for catching
  7. pound — a weight
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. court — of a king
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. capital — money
  18. court — for sport
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. ground — the earth
  24. court — of law

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