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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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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: stem · fork · branch · cap · pound · capital

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fork — in a road
  14. branch — a division
  15. capital — money
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a city

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