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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: chip · staff · cold · rash · club · mine · root · capital

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rash — hasty
  10. root — the cause
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. staff — employees
  17. club — for golf
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chip — to eat
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. club — a group

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