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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: rest · nail · spring · wound · shower · chair · root · ground

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. ground — crushed
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. shower — to wash
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. ground — the earth
  10. shower — rain
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — the cause
  13. ground — a position
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chair — a leader
  22. spring — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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