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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: stem · land · capital · bound · mouse · root · season · can

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. season — of the year
  3. root — the cause
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a city
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bound — obliged
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. land — to come down
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. season — in sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — money
  20. can — a tin
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. season — to add flavour

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