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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: capital · arm · stem · track · ground · bass · leaves · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a city
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ground — a position
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ground — crushed
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. track — a song
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. stem — to come from
  19. season — in sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ground — the earth
  23. track — a path
  24. season — of the year

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