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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: bore · pit · capital · clip · root · kid · mark · board

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. board — a committee
  3. bore — to tire
  4. root — the cause
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. clip — a video
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to drill
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. board — to get on
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — a city
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kid — child
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. root — of a word

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