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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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Word bank
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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 · temple · swing · land · capital · press · hand · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. land — ground
  3. root — the cause
  4. capital — a city
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. land — a country
  9. capital — money
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — to push
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. swing — to play on
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — crushed
  21. swing — music
  22. root — of a word
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. swing — in golf

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