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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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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 · coach · cell · can · prune · wind · capital · content

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. can — to be able to
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. root — of a word
  13. can — a tin
  14. root — the cause
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cell — in biology
  17. can — a tin
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — happy
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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