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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: root · capital · field · chair · row · wound · mug · bay

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. mug — a face
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. row — to paddle
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. root — the cause
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. capital — money
  14. mug — a cup
  15. wound — an injury
  16. field — a subject
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. root — of a word
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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