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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: court · wave · cold · tube · present · stick · stem · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of law
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. present — a gift
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. present — the time now
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. present — there
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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