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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 124 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. key — the most important part
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bore — to drill
  13. capital — money
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bore — to tire
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — for a lock
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. key — in music

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