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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. capital — money
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. root — of a plant
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. fine — all right
  12. root — of a word
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pound — a weight
  15. capital — a city
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — of law
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. root — the cause

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