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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: stand · wound · spell · stem · squash · capital · row · land

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. capital — a city
  7. land — a country
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. row — a line
  11. stand — to bear
  12. spell — magic
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — to come down
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. land — ground
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. spell — letters
  24. wound — an injury

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