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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: hand · fork · capital · track · band · dip · spell · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. root — of a word
  6. track — a path
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. track — a song
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. hand — help
  17. dip — to sink
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — in a road
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. root — the cause
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. track — to keep track

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