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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. root — of a word
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. root — of a plant
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. content — the amount
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — videos and posts
  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