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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. mate — a partner
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — money
  5. mate — to breed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. spell — letters
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spell — magic
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. root — the cause
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mate — a friend
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bore — to drill

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