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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 120 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: plane · season · firm · spell · perch · fine · stem · capital

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. fine — all right
  2. stem — to come from
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spell — magic
  7. fine — high quality
  8. firm — decided
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. firm — steady
  13. capital — a city
  14. perch — the fish
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. season — of the year
  19. spell — letters
  20. season — in sport
  21. firm — a company
  22. plane — a tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  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