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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mark — a grade
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kid — to tease
  12. root — of a word
  13. face — to confront
  14. root — the cause
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. current — happening now
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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