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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 116 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: capital · stem · clip · band · stick · cell

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — a city
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in biology
  18. band — a music group

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