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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 120 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: squash · saw · root · shower · tear · leaves · chest · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. shower — rain
  3. root — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the sport
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mine — for digging
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — a box
  20. root — the cause
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. saw — the tool
  24. leaves — lets stay

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