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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — final
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. capital — money
  12. charge — electricity
  13. stem — to come from
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bass — low music
  18. charge — a price
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a city
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. last — finally
  24. charge — in control

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