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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.

Words on the sheet
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: march · shower · track · capital · root · court · stick · pitcher

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. shower — rain
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — for sport
  8. track — to keep track
  9. court — of a king
  10. march — music
  11. capital — money
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. capital — a city
  15. root — of a word
  16. march — the month
  17. root — the cause
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — to wash
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. march — the month

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