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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — money
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — crushed
  6. capital — a city
  7. root — of a word
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pop — music
  10. root — of a plant
  11. roll — a cake
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — a country
  18. pop — soda
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. roll — a list
  22. mine — for digging
  23. root — the cause
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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