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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — for sport
  4. present — the time now
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. kick — in football
  10. row — a line
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of law
  14. capital — money
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. present — there
  21. root — the cause
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  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