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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: fan · degree · shower · mine · root · mark · bulb · cue

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cue — for pool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. degree — from a university
  21. root — the cause
  22. degree — temperature
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. root — of a word

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