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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: temple · cell · game · shower · root · stem · stick · band

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. root — of a word
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. root — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. root — the cause
  14. shower — rain
  15. stem — to come from
  16. band — a music group
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cell — a phone
  24. band — a ring

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