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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: date · capital · land · spring · chair · wave · firm · rest

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. firm — steady
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. land — ground
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. firm — a company
  10. spring — a coil
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. land — to come down
  15. spring — of water
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — a country
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — the season
  20. rest — a break
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. firm — decided
  24. date — the fruit

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