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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: capital · row · bank · mark · fan · shower · root · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — money
  3. shower — rain
  4. capital — a city
  5. mark — a trace
  6. row — a line
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. root — of a word
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bank — of a river
  14. shower — to wash
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bank — for money
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. root — the cause
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bank — for money
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — in a prison

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