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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. root — of a word
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. root — of a plant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — a city
  8. root — the cause
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. capital — money
  14. ground — a position
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bore — to tire
  17. sharp — clever
  18. season — of the year
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ground — crushed
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mine — an explosive

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