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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. capital — money
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — in cards
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — help
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. root — the cause
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. court — of law
  23. capital — a city
  24. court — for sport

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