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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — money
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — the cause
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — a tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — the fish
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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