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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. club — a group
  10. pop — soda
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. snap — to click
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. capital — a city

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