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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: chair · capital · stem · bark · track · press

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. track — a path
  3. chair — a leader
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — to keep track
  6. press — newspapers
  7. stem — to come from
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — money
  11. press — to push
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. track — a song
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — to shout
  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