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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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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: bowl · clip · root · row · cap · capital · race · coach

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. row — a line
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. race — humankind
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a city
  18. root — of a plant
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — the cause
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — for paper

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