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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.

Make a worksheet

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: foot · squash · capital · staff · deal · land · spring · chair

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — to handle
  4. spring — the season
  5. land — ground
  6. foot — a measure
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — of water
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. staff — a stick
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. squash — to crush
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. land — a country
  22. chair — a leader
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. land — to come down

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