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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: stem · capital · roll · court · mine · fork · club · pound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. court — of a king
  5. club — for golf
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. capital — money
  13. roll — a list
  14. stem — to come from
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. capital — a city
  20. club — a group
  21. fork — in a road
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. court — of law

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