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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. court — for sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. root — of a word
  8. rock — a stone
  9. root — the cause
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — money
  15. pitch — completely
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. band — a music group
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rock — music
  24. band — a ring

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