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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: squash · capital · mark · safe · tear · root · pitcher · land

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. capital — money
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. capital — a city
  9. mark — a trace
  10. squash — to crush
  11. land — to come down
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — a country
  20. mark — a grade
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. root — of a word
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — the cause

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