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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. root — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — the cause
  8. fall — the season
  9. season — of the year
  10. object — a thing
  11. capital — money
  12. root — of a word
  13. capital — a city
  14. cue — a hint
  15. season — in sport
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mark — a grade
  20. object — an aim
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cue — a signal
  24. fall — to drop

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