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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
468
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 · capital · cell · toast · chip · season · spring · march

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — money
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. chip — for betting
  7. toast — bread
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — a coil
  12. season — of the year
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. chip — to eat
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. march — music
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. staff — employees
  24. capital — a big letter

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