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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: capital · cabinet · stem · wake · shower · pass · court · wound

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. court — of law
  3. stem — to come from
  4. shower — rain
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wake — a trail
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. capital — a city
  19. pass — a permit
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — of a king

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