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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: straw · chest · wound · rule · object · stick · capital · stem

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. capital — a city
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. object — to protest
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. object — a thing
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rule — a law
  15. object — an aim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chest — a box

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