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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.

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: pitcher · march · stem · pass · capital · rash · root · date

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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. march — the month
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. march — music
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pass — a permit
  13. root — of a word
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. root — the cause
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. capital — a city

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