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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: file · spring · kid · capital · racket · root · wake · stand

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — a city
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stand — to bear
  5. file — a tool
  6. root — the cause
  7. capital — money
  8. spring — the season
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — a trail
  18. root — of a word
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kid — child
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — a big letter

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