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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: drill · capital · net · spring · rest · chair · temple · stem

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — a practice
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — a city
  11. rest — what's left
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rest — a break
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — after costs
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. temple — a place of worship

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