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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · capital · patient · trunk · rule · root

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. 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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rule — a law
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — money
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rule — government
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. 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