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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 120 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: chip · shower · root · mug · kick · cell · bark · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mug — a face
  4. cell — a phone
  5. root — of a word
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. root — of a plant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. root — the cause
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kick — in football
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — in biology

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