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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: cold · shower · root · dip · firm · stem · rush · court

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. shower — to wash
  3. stem — to come from
  4. root — of a word
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. court — for sport
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — decided
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. court — of a king
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rush — hurry
  18. firm — steady
  19. root — the cause
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. root — of a plant
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stem — of a plant

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