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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: hand · stem · rest · bound · staff · capital · season · rush

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bound — obliged
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. capital — a city
  9. rush — hurry
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — help
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — a break
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. staff — employees
  19. rest — what's left
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. bound — certain
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bound — tied together

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