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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: arm · court · bore · tear · sharp · shower · root · band

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. root — of a plant
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. band — a music group
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — of a king
  8. bore — to drill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — rain
  19. root — of a word
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — to tire
  23. band — a ring
  24. root — the cause

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