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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 116 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: capital · rest · craft · deal · chair · mark

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — a city
  4. mark — a grade
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — money
  7. mark — a trace
  8. deal — to handle
  9. craft — boats
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — a big deal

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