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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: cell · bat · row · shower · cap · root · stock · mark

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stock — goods
  10. row — a line
  11. root — the cause
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — a hat
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — a phone
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — a lid
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — shares

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