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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 120 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: hand · nail · bulb · court · root · degree · row · capital

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. root — the cause
  5. degree — temperature
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. row — a line
  11. court — of a king
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — money
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. bulb — for light
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. court — for sport
  24. root — of a word

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