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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. net — in sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. land — ground
  11. net — for catching
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. root — the cause
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — money
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. land — to come down
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — a country
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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