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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fall — the season
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. root — the cause
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a city
  13. fine — high quality
  14. clip — to cut
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fall — to drop
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. ground — crushed
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. root — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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