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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: trunk · bulb · mine · capital · chip · lie · kid · root

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chip — for betting
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — for digging
  5. root — of a plant
  6. chip — to eat
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. root — the cause
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lie — to recline
  16. capital — money
  17. bulb — for light
  18. root — of a word
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. kid — child
  24. bulb — 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