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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: capital · object · root · pit · bat · lean · court · row

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. pit — in a race
  4. object — an aim
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — money
  7. object — to protest
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. pit — a hole
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — a city
  16. object — a thing
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — to bend
  22. row — a line
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bat — in an idiom

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