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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: straw · mate · capital · root · chest · wave · chair · craft

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mate — a friend
  10. root — of a word
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mate — to breed
  13. root — of a plant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. mate — a partner
  20. root — the cause
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. capital — a big letter

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