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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. root — of a word
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. current — of water
  5. rash — a series
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. current — electric
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — completely
  14. root — of a plant
  15. current — happening now
  16. root — the cause
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mine — for digging
  20. club — a group
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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