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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · tube · coach · capital · stem · lash · fan · cell

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. capital — a city
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stem — to come from

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