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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: wind · present · mate · coach · capital · can · mine · stem

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a friend
  4. can — a tin
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. can — a tin
  15. wind — moving air
  16. can — to be able to
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. present — a gift
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. present — there
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stem — to come from

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