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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: land · rule · board · mate · net · capital · tear · root

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — to get on
  5. land — a country
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. board — a committee
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — to come down
  14. mate — a partner
  15. net — in sport
  16. root — of a word
  17. land — ground
  18. net — for catching
  19. rule — government
  20. net — after costs
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rule — a law
  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