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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 120 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: cell · chip · stock · capital · root · shower · straw · band

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a music group
  3. stock — shares
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stock — goods
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chip — to eat
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — to wash
  24. chip — in a computer

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