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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chip — for betting
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. root — of a plant
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. root — the cause
  9. prune — to trim
  10. root — of a word
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chip — to eat
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — money
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wind — to turn a key

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