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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. court — for sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. root — the cause
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. root — of a word
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pitch — a sports field

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