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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — for sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — a lid
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bat — the animal
  16. root — of a word
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. root — the cause
  19. content — happy
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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