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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: ball · stock · ground · stem · plane · capital · pass · rule

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ground — a position
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rule — government
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. stock — shares
  23. rule — a law
  24. ground — crushed

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