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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: row · chair · bat · capital · tube · ground · root · foot

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. root — the cause
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. ground — the earth
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — the animal
  24. root — of a word

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