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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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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: ground · bear · pop · stem · root · shower · fork · kick

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kick — in football
  4. ground — the earth
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pop — to visit
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. root — the cause
  19. ground — a position
  20. root — of a word
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fork — in a road
  23. shower — rain
  24. bear — the animal

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