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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: cold · root · row · jam · shower · spring · fine · swing

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. swing — to play on
  3. root — the cause
  4. swing — music
  5. fine — all right
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — to paddle
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. root — of a word
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. fine — high quality
  18. spring — of water
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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