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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: wave · root · bore · capital · kid · bulb · chip · degree

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. kid — to tease
  8. root — of a plant
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — for betting
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. capital — a city
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bore — to drill
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bore — gave birth

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