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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. charge — electricity
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. charge — in control
  9. bound — obliged
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spell — magic
  15. last — final
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bound — certain
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — to grow
  21. charge — a price
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bound — tied together
  24. capital — money

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