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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.

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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: pitcher · staff · capital · last · fork · season · fine · root

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — the cause
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — in sport
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. staff — employees
  11. root — of a word
  12. last — final
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. last — finally
  17. staff — employees
  18. fine — all right
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. capital — a city
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — a stick
  23. season — of the year
  24. capital — money

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