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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 116 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. root — of a plant
  3. spell — letters
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. club — a group
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. stem — to come from
  10. capital — a city
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. root — of a word
  21. spell — a short time
  22. club — for golf
  23. bark — to shout
  24. calf — a young animal

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