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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 · deal · shower · kick · cold · capital · pop · track

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a song
  4. kick — in football
  5. track — a path
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — of a word
  9. shower — to wash
  10. capital — money
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pop — soda
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pop — music
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. capital — a city
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. deal — to handle

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