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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 116 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: row · court · mate · leaves · capital · cue · kick · root

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. root — of a plant
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. court — of a king
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a word
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mate — to breed
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. court — of law
  19. root — the cause
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mate — a partner
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. mate — a friend

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