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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · pop · chest · staff · root · mark · capital · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. root — of a plant
  3. staff — employees
  4. pop — soda
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — music
  7. staff — a stick
  8. shower — rain
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chest — a box
  11. mark — a grade
  12. present — there
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. root — the cause
  16. capital — money
  17. staff — employees
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a city
  23. root — of a word
  24. pop — to visit

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