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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · snap · capital · root · stand · field · court · bear

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — for sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. root — the cause
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stand — to bear
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. field — a subject

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