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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — a law
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lie — to recline
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. capital — a city
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stem — to come from
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cell — a phone
  23. capital — money
  24. ground — a position

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