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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. shower — rain
  4. mark — a grade
  5. branch — a division
  6. mark — a trace
  7. content — happy
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. court — of law
  10. root — of a plant
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — of a tree

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