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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: mate · capital · date · perch · fan · cell · racket · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mate — to breed
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. perch — the fish
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — money
  14. date — the fruit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mate — a friend
  18. root — the cause
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. capital — a city
  23. racket — for tennis
  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