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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: bass · date · stem · pop · mark · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. capital — money
  15. mark — a grade
  16. capital — a city
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stem — of a plant

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