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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. root — of a plant
  3. tube — a container
  4. charge — in control
  5. season — of the year
  6. tube — the underground
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — the tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — a practice
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. charge — a price
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — of a word
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mine — for digging
  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