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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 · shower · cell · lie · degree · leaves · cue · capital

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — for pool
  4. root — of a plant
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. cue — a hint
  9. lie — to recline
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. shower — rain
  12. degree — an amount
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. root — the cause
  17. cue — a signal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. shower — to wash
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — a phone

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