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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 · straw · staff · stem · band · cell · bass · wax

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. band — a ring
  3. staff — employees
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bass — low music
  7. staff — employees
  8. capital — a city
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bass — the fish
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cell — in biology
  19. staff — a stick
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. band — a music group

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