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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: plane · row · bass · stem · capital · march · field · kick

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — money
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bass — low music
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. row — a line
  15. field — farmland
  16. capital — a city
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. field — for sport
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. kick — in football
  23. stem — to come from
  24. row — a quarrel

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