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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: last · capital · shower · mine · bulb · root · chip · board

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. capital — a city
  3. bulb — for light
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a word
  8. board — a committee
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — to eat
  11. mine — for digging
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chip — for betting
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — finally
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. last — to go on
  20. capital — money
  21. shower — rain
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — of a plant
  24. board — to get on

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