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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: coach · hand · temple · pitcher · root · shower · row · object

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. root — of a word
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. object — a thing
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. root — the cause
  11. object — to protest
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — a line
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. object — an aim
  20. hand — in cards
  21. root — of a plant
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. hand — help
  24. shower — rain

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