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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
468
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: staff · degree · stem · capital · calf · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. file — a tool
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. capital — money
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. degree — from a university
  16. staff — a stick
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — temperature

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