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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: season · root · squash · capital · field · key · snap · leaves

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. season — of the year
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. squash — to crush
  7. snap — to click
  8. capital — a city
  9. field — farmland
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — the most important part
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. squash — the sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. key — for a lock
  21. capital — money
  22. field — for sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. key — in music

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