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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: mate · capital · tear · pop · racket · bowl · fan · root

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — the cause
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mate — to breed
  15. root — of a word
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pop — soda
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. root — of a plant
  24. racket — for tennis

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