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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. root — the cause
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. current — of water
  5. stock — shares
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stock — goods
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. root — of a word
  15. capital — money
  16. mark — a trace
  17. current — happening now
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rest — what's left
  22. root — of a plant
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rest — a break

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