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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 · toast · capital · coach · chip · clip · drill · mark

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. toast — bread
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mark — a grade
  20. root — the cause
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mark — a trace
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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