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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: tear · root · jam · capital · pitcher · club · rest · kid

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — for golf
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — to rip
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. capital — money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. root — of a plant
  13. capital — a city
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — child
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. rest — a break

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