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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: arm · capital · wind · cell · court · stem · rush · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. court — of a king
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. stem — to come from

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