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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. row — to paddle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — money
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of a king
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a city
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. row — a line
  18. court — for sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stem — a stem cell

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