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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 116 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: bear · capital · mate · stem · net · band

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. net — in sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — after costs
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a music group
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — to come from

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