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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 · capital · club · stock · wake · chair · stem · file

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. club — a group
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chair — a leader
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. file — a document
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. capital — money
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stock — shares
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a tool
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. club — for dancing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. club — for golf
  24. stem — a stem cell

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