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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. capital — a city
  3. pass — a permit
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. file — a tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — the cause
  9. court — of law
  10. root — of a plant
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. file — a document
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — money
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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