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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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Word bank
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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: club · chair · capital · stem · row · lie

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a line
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — a city
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — to come from
  15. club — a group
  16. capital — money
  17. club — for dancing
  18. row — a quarrel

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