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

Word bank: root · chair · shower · chip · capital · wind

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. capital — money
  5. shower — to wash
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chair — a leader
  11. shower — rain
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. root — the cause
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — moving air

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