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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. root — of a word
  3. court — of a king
  4. can — to be able to
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pop — music
  7. present — a gift
  8. root — the cause
  9. can — a tin
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. capital — a city
  12. chest — a box
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pop — to visit
  15. court — for sport
  16. present — there
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pop — soda
  20. date — the fruit
  21. present — the time now
  22. court — of law
  23. chest — of your body
  24. capital — money

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