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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: shower · ball · mouse · toast · bear · fork · cold · root

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. root — of a plant
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — an illness
  16. toast — bread
  17. fork — in a road
  18. ball — a great time
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. root — the cause
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. shower — to wash
  24. root — of a word

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