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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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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: chair · capital · wave · last · mate · squash · file · root

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. file — a document
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. root — of a word
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. capital — a city
  18. root — the cause
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. capital — money
  22. last — final
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — to breed

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