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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: capital · pitch · patient · court · rest · date · root · clip

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — what's left
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. root — of a word
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — of a king
  8. rest — a break
  9. capital — money
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. date — the fruit
  18. root — of a plant
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. root — the cause
  24. capital — a city

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