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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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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: chest · field · foot · can · capital · snap · staff · ground

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — crushed
  4. staff — a stick
  5. chest — a box
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — a city
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. field — farmland
  11. ground — the earth
  12. foot — a measure
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — a tin
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. ground — a position
  22. can — to be able to
  23. snap — to click
  24. chest — of your body

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