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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — money
  3. root — of a word
  4. hand — help
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. ground — the earth
  7. court — of law
  8. snap — to click
  9. ground — crushed
  10. root — the cause
  11. court — of a king
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wake — a trail
  15. capital — a city
  16. hand — in cards
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. ground — a position

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