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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: pitcher · bulb · row · ground · mine · lash · shower · root

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. ground — crushed
  3. root — the cause
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. row — a line
  9. root — of a word
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ground — the earth
  14. root — of a plant
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bulb — for light
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. ground — a position
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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