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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: current · bound · capital · cold · stick · stem · fork · cap

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. current — electric
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. current — happening now
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cap — a lid
  14. current — of water
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — in a road
  21. capital — money
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — an illness

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