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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: bat · content · chest · spring · root · fan · wake · capital

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a word
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wake — a trail
  15. content — happy
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. capital — money
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — the amount
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. spring — a coil

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