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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — a city
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stock — goods
  9. root — of a word
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rest — a break
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — shares
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. court — for sport
  20. board — a committee
  21. court — of law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. root — the cause

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