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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: ball · capital · bay · lash · cap · stem · firm · straw

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. capital — a city
  4. stem — to come from
  5. capital — money
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. ball — a dance
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cap — a lid
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. ball — a great time
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. firm — steady
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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