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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: capital · mine · cold · season · fork · saw · charge · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cold — not warm
  4. charge — a price
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. season — of the year
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. season — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — in control
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — in a road
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — the Cold War

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