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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — rain
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. shower — to wash
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. root — of a plant
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. row — a line
  15. fine — all right
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — high quality
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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