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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 120 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: mine · capital · root · court · cabinet · net · pop · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. court — of law
  10. craft — a skill
  11. pop — music
  12. root — of a word
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — in sport
  24. craft — a handicraft

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