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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. march — music
  3. root — of a word
  4. bass — low music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — to grow
  11. court — for sport
  12. bass — the fish
  13. court — of a king
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — happy
  18. root — the cause
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. root — of a plant

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