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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: capital · ruler · bark · ball · cold · bore · root · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. capital — a city
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — of a word
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. root — of a plant

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