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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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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: wound · dip · racket · capital · perch · bat · root · mark

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — of a plant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mark — a trace
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — money
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mark — a grade
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. capital — a city
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — the animal
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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