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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bowl · kick · capital · spring · craft · stem

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. kick — in football
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spring — of water
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. capital — money
  10. craft — boats
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — a coil
  15. craft — a skill
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — the season
  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