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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: date · stick · shower · straw · root · cap · wake · kick

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. root — of a word
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kick — in football
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. shower — rain
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — of a plant
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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