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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wax · pop · spring · lie · stick · stem · capital · field

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a city
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pop — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — for sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spring — the season
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — a stem cell

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