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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.

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: leaves · spell · ground · wake · pit · content · capital · chair

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spell — a short time
  3. content — happy
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ground — the earth
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pit — a hole
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. pit — in a race
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spell — magic
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wake — a trail
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — a city
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spell — letters
  24. leaves — lets stay

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