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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bound — obliged
  18. capital — money
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bound — certain
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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