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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: staff · date · field · mug · row · capital · wake · wave

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. mug — a cup
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mug — a face
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mug — to rob
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. date — the fruit
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — money
  17. field — farmland
  18. capital — a city
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. staff — employees
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. field — for sport
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. date — on the calendar

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