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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 120 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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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: capital · face · chair · pound · stand · root · tear · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a word
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — a weight
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tear — to rip
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — the cause
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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