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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · racket · pit · shower · tube · capital · root · mine

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tube — a container
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. root — the cause
  10. spring — of water
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — rain
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. root — of a word
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. capital — a city
  23. mine — for digging
  24. racket — for tennis

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