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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 116 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: trunk · key · pop · stem · shower · cold · rule · root

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — music
  5. root — the cause
  6. pop — soda
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. key — the most important part
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rule — government
  14. shower — to wash
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — of a word
  18. cold — not warm
  19. shower — rain
  20. stem — to come from
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. key — for a lock
  24. root — 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