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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: stock · capital · last · net · chip · stand · stem · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. last — final
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. last — finally
  9. net — for catching
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — money
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. net — after costs
  14. stem — to come from
  15. chip — for betting
  16. root — the cause
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chip — to eat
  20. capital — a city
  21. stock — goods
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. last — to go on
  24. net — in sport

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