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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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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: stock · capital · lean · cue · band · field · staff · stem

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. staff — employees
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. band — a music group
  8. lean — to bend
  9. capital — a city
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — money
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. field — farmland
  17. staff — a stick
  18. field — for sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. staff — employees
  22. cue — a hint
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. field — a subject

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