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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: ball · bear · stem · net · capital · court · ground · march

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a dance
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — in sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — after costs
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a great time
  13. court — for sport
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. court — of law
  19. march — music
  20. capital — a city
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. stem — to come from
  23. net — for catching
  24. capital — money

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