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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: root · capital · content · stick · season · net · court · chair

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. content — the amount
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — of a king
  8. chair — a leader
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. capital — money
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. content — happy
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. root — of a word
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. root — the cause
  19. net — for catching
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. court — of law
  23. net — in sport
  24. root — of a plant

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