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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: net · last · capital · temple · hand · staff · root · court

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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 — of a word
  2. net — after costs
  3. root — of a plant
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — finally
  6. court — of law
  7. staff — a stick
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — for catching
  11. court — of a king
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — a city
  23. last — final
  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