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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: spring · clip · present · stem · capital · lash · bass · stock

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stem — to come from
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stock — shares
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. spring — the season
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. present — the time now
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. clip — a video
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. bass — low music
  24. stock — goods

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