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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: jam · capital · pitch · root · band · season · court · squash

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. court — of law
  5. season — in sport
  6. pitch — completely
  7. root — the cause
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — of a king
  15. root — of a plant
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — a city
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. root — of a word
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. court — for sport
  23. capital — money
  24. squash — the vegetable

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