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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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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. root — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — money
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. last — finally
  12. root — the cause
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mark — a grade
  15. last — final
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mark — a trace
  19. root — of a word
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. racket — for tennis

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