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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 120 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: lash · present · land · bark · capital · stand · cold · stem

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. capital — a city
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — money
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — the time now
  12. stand — to bear
  13. land — a country
  14. present — a gift
  15. bark — to shout
  16. land — to come down
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. present — there
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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