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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — money
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. root — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — music
  24. root — of a word

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