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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — for catching
  3. mate — to breed
  4. net — after costs
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. capital — a city
  8. fork — in a road
  9. net — in sport
  10. root — the cause
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. root — of a plant
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mate — a friend
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — money
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — music
  23. root — of a word
  24. vault — a safe

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