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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: wind · temple · track · root · capital · cap · object · row

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. row — a line
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. row — to paddle
  8. capital — a city
  9. object — an aim
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cap — a lid
  12. track — to keep track
  13. object — a thing
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. track — a song
  17. object — to protest
  18. track — a path
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a word
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. root — the cause

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