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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spring — of water
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — to paddle
  7. charge — electricity
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — the season
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. charge — a price
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. charge — in control
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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