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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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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: wound · wave · capital · content · root · pit · cell · hand

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. root — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pit — in a race
  7. hand — help
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. capital — a city
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wave — of the sea

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