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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: leaves · chair · shower · jam · prune · court · root · stock

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. chair — a leader
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. root — of a word
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of law
  14. root — the cause
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. prune — to trim
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. shower — rain
  23. prune — to trim
  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