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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — a stick
  3. capital — money
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pop — to visit
  7. face — to confront
  8. staff — employees
  9. hand — help
  10. face — part of the head
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pop — soda
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. face — to point toward
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. pop — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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