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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. root — of a word
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bear — the animal
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chair — a leader
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. march — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bear — the animal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. root — the cause
  23. march — the month
  24. bear — to put up with

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