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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. root — of a plant
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fine — all right
  5. capital — money
  6. court — of a king
  7. race — a contest
  8. rock — music
  9. court — for sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — of a word
  14. sharp — clever
  15. court — of law
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. root — the cause
  24. bat — the animal

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