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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. root — the cause
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. toast — bread
  15. rash — a series
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — money
  19. root — of a plant
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — of a word

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