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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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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: nail · shower · bear · stem · pop · land · chair · root

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. land — ground
  4. root — of a word
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pop — music
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pop — soda
  17. bear — the animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pop — to visit
  22. root — the cause
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. shower — rain

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