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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 · capital · mug · kid · fan · cold · field · lie

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. root — the cause
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a word
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — of a plant
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — for sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mug — to rob
  16. field — a subject
  17. mug — a face
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — a city
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — an illness

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