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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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Word bank
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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: lean · shower · spring · club · fall · coach · root · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. club — for dancing
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. root — of a plant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. root — the cause
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — for golf
  11. root — of a word
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — of water
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — the season
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — to wash
  19. spring — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — thin

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