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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.

Make a worksheet

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: can · capital · tear · pop · land · root · racket · dip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pop — soda
  5. capital — money
  6. land — ground
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. root — of a word
  9. pop — to visit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. root — the cause
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. tear — from crying
  22. land — a country
  23. root — of a plant
  24. can — a tin

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