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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: root · cold · swing · squash · net · capital · stem · chip

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. chip — for betting
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. squash — the sport
  8. net — in sport
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. net — for catching
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chip — to eat
  18. net — after costs
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stem — to come from
  24. swing — to play 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