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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: spring · cap · stand · roll · wake · stem · capital · pop

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — soda
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — a city
  11. pop — music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. roll — a list
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — money
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cap — of ice
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — a lid
  24. roll — on a roll

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