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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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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: content · capital · stem · cap · patient · bank · arm · press

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stem — to come from
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — of ice
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — to push
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bank — for money
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stem — a stem cell

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