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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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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: band · degree · capital · tear · stem · foot · lash · date

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — a measure
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. band — a ring
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tear — to rip
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. band — a music group
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. date — the fruit
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. capital — a city
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. degree — an amount

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