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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: pitcher · tear · court · chip · root · capital · drill · wound

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — for sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a city
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. court — of a king
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — of a word
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chip — for betting
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — of law

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