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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: capital · tear · snap · calf · wave · stem · court · root

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — of law
  8. stem — to come from
  9. snap — to click
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — of a plant
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. court — of a king
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. root — the cause
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. court — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. root — of a word

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