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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.

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: can · staff · kid · mark · field · capital · prune · chair

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — a city
  4. can — a tin
  5. field — for sport
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. can — a tin
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mark — a trace
  14. staff — employees
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. kid — child
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. can — to be able to
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — to tease

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