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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: charge · clip · suit · capital · root · mate · wind · shower

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. charge — electricity
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. mate — to breed
  8. root — the cause
  9. suit — in cards
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — a friend
  13. shower — to wash
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — a video
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. capital — money
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — a city

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