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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pop — music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. capital — money
  10. current — of water
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pop — to visit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fall — to drop
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. firm — a company
  18. current — happening now
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. pop — soda
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. current — electric
  24. fall — the season

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