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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 · firm · content · mark · saw · fork · stem · capital

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — a city
  6. hand — help
  7. mark — a trace
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. capital — money
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — in cards
  19. firm — decided
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. content — happy

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