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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. drill — the tool
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — army training
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. ball — a great time
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rest — a break
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. root — the cause

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