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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — in music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. capital — a city
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — money
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. fine — high quality
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fine — all right
  16. rule — government
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rule — a law

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