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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: shower · chair · straw · root · hand · stem · bear · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. root — of a plant
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. root — the cause
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. root — of a word
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. drill — army training
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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