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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · root · capital · board · spring · wax · chip · stand

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — the season
  16. chip — to eat
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. root — the cause
  24. stand — for spectators

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