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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lash · court · capital · net · field · stem · cue · drill

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. cue — a hint
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. net — in sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — farmland
  11. cue — for pool
  12. drill — the tool
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — after costs
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. court — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — a subject
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. field — for sport
  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