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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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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 · cue · cold · wind · stem · firm · season

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. firm — decided
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mate — to breed
  12. season — of the year
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. firm — steady
  18. cue — a hint
  19. firm — a company
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. season — in sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. capital — a city

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