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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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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: root · ground · calf · mate · chest · capital · deal · toast

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. root — of a plant
  3. ground — a position
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mate — to breed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — bread
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mate — a partner
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. root — the cause
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — the earth
  23. toast — the most admired
  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