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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: root · stem · bass · land · pitcher · mug · shower · content

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. root — the cause
  5. mug — to rob
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bass — the fish
  8. root — of a plant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. land — a country
  12. shower — rain
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — to come down
  24. content — happy

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