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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: tube · shower · toast · root · ground · bark · fall · deal

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. root — of a word
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. ground — a position
  7. tube — a container
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. shower — to wash
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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