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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: date · capital · lean · stem · press · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — a city
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. press — a publisher
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. press — newspapers
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. press — to push

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