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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. swing — in golf
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — temperature
  7. swing — to play on
  8. root — of a plant
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. swing — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — an amount
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. perch — the fish
  17. court — of law
  18. root — of a word
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — money
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. trunk — of a car

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