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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: kick · land · stem · pop · capital · shower · mate · bay

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. land — ground
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. mate — a partner
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — a friend
  12. kick — in football
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — rain
  15. pop — to visit
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. land — a country
  23. capital — money
  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