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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — letters
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. club — for golf
  15. march — the month
  16. club — a group
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a city
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spell — a short time
  22. tube — a container
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tube — the underground

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