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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: plane · spring · drill · object · rush · stem · tear · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. tear — to rip
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rush — hurry
  10. object — to protest
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. object — a thing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stem — to come from
  19. plane — a tool
  20. object — an aim
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. spring — of water
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — the season

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