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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. key — in music
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. land — a country
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — ground
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spring — of water
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. capital — money
  15. land — to come down
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. cell — in biology
  20. capital — a city
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. key — the most important part
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. squash — the vegetable

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