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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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468
Word bank
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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: spell · sharp · club · root · cell · band · court · capital

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of a king
  4. root — the cause
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. club — for golf
  9. court — of law
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — clever
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — a short time
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. band — a ring
  24. cell — a phone

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