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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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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: ruler · dip · stem · stand · date · present · cold · capital

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. present — a gift
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. date — the fruit
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — there
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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