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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 116 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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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: capital · stem · clip · band · stick · cell · tear · swing

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. capital — money
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. capital — a city
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cell — a phone
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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