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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: chest · branch · rule · root · club · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. branch — a division
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rule — government
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a city
  7. root — the cause
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. club — for golf
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. club — a group
  13. root — of a word
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. club — for dancing
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chest — a box

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