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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — to breed
  4. root — the cause
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. dip — to sink
  8. march — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. root — of a word
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chest — a box
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mine — for digging
  22. march — the month
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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