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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — money
  5. root — of a word
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — a city
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. court — of a king
  11. object — a thing
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rush — hurry
  18. root — the cause
  19. object — an aim
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rash — hasty
  23. court — of law
  24. rash — a series

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