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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: nail · shower · wind · court · trunk · root · press · fall

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. root — of a word
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — the cause
  7. press — to push
  8. root — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fall — the season
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. court — of law
  20. press — a publisher
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — to wash
  23. court — for sport
  24. wind — to turn a key

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