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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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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: stem · pop · capital · tear · rash · lean · bulb · can

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pop — to visit
  3. capital — a city
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. can — to be able to
  7. lean — to bend
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. can — a tin
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — a tin
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rash — a series
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pop — soda
  19. lean — thin
  20. pop — music
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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