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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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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 · mine · content · chair · club · leaves · rest · wake

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — a leader
  10. content — happy
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. club — for golf
  21. rest — what's left
  22. club — a group
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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