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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. root — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. kick — in football
  8. root — the cause
  9. file — a document
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. perch — the fish
  13. spring — of water
  14. bank — for money
  15. spring — the season
  16. bank — of a river
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. file — a line of people
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — for money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. capital — money

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