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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. root — of a word
  9. craft — boats
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ball — a great time
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. root — of a plant
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fall — the season
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. craft — a skill

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