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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: safe · wax · capital · root · court · bear · bat · ruler

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. court — of law
  3. capital — a city
  4. root — of a word
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — to grow
  9. root — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. root — the cause
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. safe — out of danger

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