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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of a king
  7. capital — a city
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — of law
  12. staff — employees
  13. press — to push
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. press — newspapers
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. current — happening now
  19. root — the cause
  20. stock — goods
  21. root — of a plant
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. press — a publisher
  24. current — of water

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