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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. stand — to bear
  7. root — the cause
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. root — of a plant
  16. capital — a city
  17. root — of a word
  18. row — to paddle

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