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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 · ball · capital · tear · patient · pitcher · deal · wake

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. deal — to handle
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. capital — a city
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. root — of a word
  12. ball — a dance
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitcher — a jug

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