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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. root — of a word
  3. capital — a city
  4. saw — the tool
  5. net — in sport
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. tube — the underground
  9. track — a song
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. net — after costs
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — money
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. track — a path
  20. net — for catching
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. tube — a container
  24. track — to keep track

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