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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. band — a ring
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. charge — in control
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. capital — money
  7. key — the most important part
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. charge — electricity
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. plane — a tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. net — after costs
  15. charge — a price
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. key — for a lock
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. capital — a city
  24. key — in music

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