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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: bat · rest · mate · capital · rock · toast · hand · staff

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rest — a break
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. staff — a stick
  13. toast — bread
  14. mate — a friend
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mate — to breed
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. rock — a stone

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