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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 116 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: ball · row · court · charge · land · leaves · root · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. capital — a city
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. ball — a great time
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — to come down
  15. row — a line
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. charge — electricity
  19. capital — money
  20. charge — a price
  21. court — of a king
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — of a tree

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