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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. roll — a cake
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the sport
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bank — of a river
  18. dip — to sink
  19. capital — money
  20. bank — for money
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — to crush
  24. root — the cause

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