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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. root — of a word
  3. net — after costs
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. root — the cause
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. net — for catching
  14. present — a gift
  15. wake — a trail
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. present — there
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. present — the time now
  24. wake — before a funeral

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