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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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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: degree · club · capital · root · face · squash · ball · swing

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. swing — in golf
  3. ball — a dance
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ball — a great time
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. capital — a city
  11. face — part of the head
  12. squash — to crush
  13. face — to confront
  14. club — for golf
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. squash — the sport
  18. swing — to play on
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. degree — an amount
  21. root — of a word
  22. swing — music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. capital — money

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