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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: capital · straw · root · vault · court · land · board · spring

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. spring — of water
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. board — a committee
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — a country
  19. court — for sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of law
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — money
  24. land — ground

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