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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: wave · present · root · kick · march · capital · current · pitcher

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. capital — a city
  3. present — a gift
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. root — of a plant
  8. march — music
  9. root — the cause
  10. capital — money
  11. current — of water
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. march — the month
  14. current — electric
  15. march — the month
  16. current — happening now
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. present — the time now

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