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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — of a word
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. court — for sport
  10. kick — in football
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. board — a committee
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. court — of law
  16. band — a music group
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. board — to get on
  20. court — of a king
  21. root — the cause
  22. band — a ring
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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