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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: stock · shower · root · wind · present · hide · current · prune

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — to trim
  3. shower — to wash
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — rain
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. current — happening now
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stock — shares
  16. current — electric
  17. present — a gift
  18. current — of water
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — of a word
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — the time now
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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