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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: staff · chest · mark · game · toast · rock · capital · root

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. capital — a city
  8. rock — music
  9. root — of a word
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chest — a box
  12. capital — money
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — a match
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. staff — employees
  20. root — the cause
  21. mark — a grade
  22. toast — bread
  23. mark — a trace
  24. root — of a plant

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