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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: shower · content · coach · object · kick · capital · tear · stem

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. object — an aim
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. content — the amount
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. content — happy
  10. object — to protest
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kick — in football
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — to wash
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. capital — a city
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stem — of a plant

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