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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · dip · key · coach · perch · mark · capital · kid

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. stem — to come from
  3. capital — a city
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — money
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. dip — to sink
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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