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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: mark · file · bat · capital · row · key · rest · chair

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mark — a grade
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. mark — a trace
  21. file — a line of people
  22. capital — a city
  23. key — in music
  24. rest — a break

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