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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 116 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: bay · stem · kid · capital · stand · can · spell · last

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spell — letters
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spell — magic
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — finally
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — child
  16. last — final
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. can — a tin
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — money
  24. stand — for spectators

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