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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 · arm · roll · capital · key · degree · saw · pitch

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. root — of a word
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. key — for a lock
  10. root — the cause
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitch — completely
  15. roll — a cake
  16. saw — the tool
  17. roll — a list
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. root — of a plant

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