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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: ball · cold · tube · dip · root · fork · pass · capital

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. tube — a container
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pass — a permit
  14. root — of a word
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. root — the cause
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. root — of a plant
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — a city

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