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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: mate · capital · calf · stem · bark · pit · chair · file

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. chair — a leader
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mate — to breed
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stem — of a plant

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