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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. court — for sport
  5. root — of a word
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. capital — a city
  8. rest — a break
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. season — in sport
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pass — a permit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. court — of a king
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — of law
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — rain

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