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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: capital · stem · cue · pitch · content · land · fork · pound

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. cue — a signal
  10. land — a country
  11. content — happy
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. content — the amount
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cue — for pool
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. capital — money
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitch — completely

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