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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: capital · chair · root · last · pop · wake · land · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. drill — army training
  2. wake — a trail
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — money
  9. last — finally
  10. drill — a practice
  11. root — the cause
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. pop — to visit
  16. land — ground
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. drill — the tool
  19. root — of a word
  20. pop — music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — a leader
  23. capital — a big letter
  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