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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: club · shower · root · mine · drill · hide · content · net

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. root — of a word
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. shower — rain
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mine — for digging
  8. content — happy
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — the tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. club — a group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. net — in sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — army training
  20. net — for catching
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. root — the cause
  23. club — for dancing
  24. net — after costs

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