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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: arm · capital · wind · cell · court · stem

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cell — in biology
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. court — of a king
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. court — of law
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cell — a phone

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