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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: stem · chip · capital · bark · cap · field · fan · prune

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — a city
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — a lid
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chip — for betting
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chip — to eat

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