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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · season · capital · cell · row · temple

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — money
  17. season — in sport
  18. cell — a phone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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