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

Word bank: tear · stem · fall · land · board · capital · stick · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. land — ground
  5. fall — the season
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. board — to get on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. land — to come down
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. board — a committee
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — to come from
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pit — in a race
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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