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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. can — a tin
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — steady
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — money
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. stem — to come from
  14. capital — a city
  15. can — to be able to
  16. mate — a partner
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. firm — decided
  19. spring — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — of water
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a friend
  24. can — a tin

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