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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · chest · capital · field · spell · branch · root · wave

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. shower — rain
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — money
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — of your body
  11. root — of a word
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. capital — a city
  14. chest — a box
  15. spell — letters
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — the cause
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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