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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. root — the cause
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — a city
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — in biology
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pit — a hole
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ball — a great time
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — a phone
  17. root — of a word
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pit — in a race
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. spring — of water

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