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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: pit · chair · root · shower · fall · stock · field · calf

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pit — a hole
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. shower — to wash
  8. field — a subject
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stock — shares
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. shower — rain
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. field — farmland

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