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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: rule · capital · nail · content · stem · mate

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rule — a law
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mate — a friend
  6. capital — money
  7. rule — government
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. content — the amount
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stem — to come from
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. content — happy

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