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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: hand · race · root · ground · roll · shower · lean · rush

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. race — humankind
  3. ground — crushed
  4. root — the cause
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. ground — the earth
  13. root — of a plant
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. shower — rain
  16. roll — a cake
  17. lean — thin
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. hand — help
  22. roll — a list
  23. root — of a word
  24. ground — a position

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