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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: club · game · plane · stem · rest · capital · content · cap

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. club — a group
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. content — the amount
  6. cap — a lid
  7. club — for dancing
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — happy
  10. club — for golf
  11. capital — a city
  12. rest — a break
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cap — a hat
  16. capital — money
  17. game — a match
  18. cap — of ice
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — wild animals
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a kind of play

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