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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 · bark · file · ground · race · capital

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. race — a contest
  7. ground — a position
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stem — to come from
  13. file — a tool
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people

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