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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — of the year
  3. root — of a plant
  4. land — to come down
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. track — a song
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — money
  10. season — in sport
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — a country
  13. pit — in a race
  14. root — of a word
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. race — the arms race
  17. track — a path
  18. root — the cause
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — ground
  21. race — humankind
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. race — a contest

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