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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — a container
  3. root — of a word
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. root — the cause
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bat — the animal
  13. key — in music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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