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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: court · race · pop · rock · capital · face · bark · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. root — the cause
  4. face — to point toward
  5. race — the arms race
  6. court — for sport
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — humankind
  9. rock — a stone
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — music
  13. root — of a plant
  14. rock — music
  15. court — of law
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — money
  18. court — of a king
  19. pop — to visit
  20. face — to confront
  21. race — a contest
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pop — soda
  24. capital — a big letter

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