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

Word bank: shower · cell · file · root · present · pound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. root — the cause
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. pound — a weight
  15. present — there
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. file — a document

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