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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: wave · stem · field · rash · court · capital · present · spring

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. present — there
  3. rash — a series
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — the season
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. spring — of water
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. present — the time now
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. field — farmland
  17. court — for sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — money
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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