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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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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: staff · stick · root · straw · rule · prune · bound · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. staff — employees
  3. rule — a law
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bound — certain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bound — tied together
  12. staff — employees
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. root — the cause
  18. bound — obliged
  19. root — of a word
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. rule — government
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. root — of a plant

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