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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · rock · stem · capital · game · stick · roll · net

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. roll — on a roll
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — in sport
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. rock — a stone
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rock — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. game — a match
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — money
  22. game — wild animals
  23. roll — a list
  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