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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: capital · rush · face · track · court · firm · trunk · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. firm — decided
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. capital — a city
  7. track — a song
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. court — for sport
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rush — hurry
  12. firm — steady
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — to keep track
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. capital — money
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. firm — a company
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of a king
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. trunk — of a tree

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