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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · fork · mug · mark · hand · mate · chair · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. capital — a city
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. capital — money
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mark — a grade
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — to come down
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mug — to rob
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mug — a face
  22. land — ground
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mark — a trace

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