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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: spell · stem · face · date · capital · shower · object · board

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. stem — to come from
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a city
  4. object — an aim
  5. capital — money
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. board — to get on
  10. face — to confront
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — part of the head
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to point toward
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. object — a thing
  18. board — a committee
  19. spell — magic
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. object — to protest
  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