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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: court · ground · row · capital · hide · track · stem · race

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. row — a line
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. ground — crushed
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. ground — a position
  7. race — a contest
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. court — of a king
  10. track — a path
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. capital — money
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — to keep track
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — a city
  19. ground — the earth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. stem — to come from
  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