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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: season · pound · plane · root · fork · chest · wind · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chest — a box
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — the cause
  13. season — of the year
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. root — of a word
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. season — in sport
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chest — of your body

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