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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: craft · chair · chest · mate · cap · root · rock · last

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. craft — boats
  3. root — the cause
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rock — music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cap — of ice
  19. last — final
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mate — a friend
  24. craft — a handicraft

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