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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: content · hand · cap · root · drill · shower · rush · mine

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. root — of a word
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rush — hurry
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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