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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — the cause
  4. land — a country
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. key — for a lock
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. scale — size or range
  12. key — in music
  13. land — ground
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. root — of a word
  17. bat — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. root — of a plant
  24. land — to come down

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