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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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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: tear · capital · club · plane · stem · race · straw · land

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — humankind
  5. land — ground
  6. race — the arms race
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. club — for golf
  13. stem — to come from
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — money
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — a group
  18. race — a contest
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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