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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: wake · mouse · tube · chest · capital · spell · stem · can

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. tube — a container
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spell — letters
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chest — a box
  16. can — a tin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wake — a trail

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