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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: stem · root · band · cell · key · wax · capital · cue

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in biology
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cue — a hint
  9. band — a ring
  10. root — of a word
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cue — a signal
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cue — for pool
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — a phone

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