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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.

Make a worksheet

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: stem · hide · capital · land · track · chair · face · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. land — a country
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stem — to come from
  9. land — to come down
  10. capital — money
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. track — a path
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. face — to point toward
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — a leader
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to confront
  22. track — to keep track
  23. face — part of the head
  24. hide — to keep secret

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