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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: bat · race · capital · spell · bear · temple · staff · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — a contest
  10. capital — money
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bear — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. staff — employees
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — the arms race
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bat — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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