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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 120 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: ruler · firm · stem · band · content · capital · temple · court

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. band — a music group
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — of law
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. firm — a company
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. capital — money
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — happy
  16. court — of a king
  17. firm — steady
  18. band — a ring
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. capital — a city
  24. ruler — a monarch

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