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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.

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 · capital · court · chest · staff · mine · mug · root

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mug — a cup
  5. root — of a plant
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. staff — employees
  8. chest — a box
  9. mug — a face
  10. capital — money
  11. foot — a measure
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. staff — a stick
  15. root — of a word
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. capital — a city
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — the cause
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mine — belonging to me

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