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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: date · capital · root · lean · stem · shower · roll · rush

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. roll — a cake
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — rain
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stem — to come from
  13. root — of a word
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. date — the fruit
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. root — the cause
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lean — to bend
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. root — of a plant
  24. roll — a list

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