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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — the cause
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pop — music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. root — of a word
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. current — electric
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. current — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pop — to visit
  18. current — happening now
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — money
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. drill — army training

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