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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: roll · stem · mark · sharp · season · chest · capital · bass

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a list
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — to come from
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. capital — a city
  16. chest — a box
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. roll — a cake
  19. season — of the year
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. season — in sport
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bass — the fish
  24. sharp — with an edge

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