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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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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: march · kick · chair · foot · object · capital · last · stem

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. last — final
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. last — to go on
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — a city
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. foot — a measure
  17. capital — money
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — music
  23. last — finally
  24. object — a thing

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