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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: net · stem · capital · game · cell · row · safe · rule

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. net — in sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. capital — money
  16. net — after costs
  17. game — a match
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — government
  20. cell — in biology
  21. net — for catching
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — a law
  24. safe — out of danger

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