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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. dip — to sink
  6. capital — a city
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. drill — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pop — to visit
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. capital — money
  23. root — the cause
  24. deal — to handle

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