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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 120 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: coach · prune · root · snap · land · shower · present · wound

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. land — a country
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — there
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — ground
  8. root — of a plant
  9. land — to come down
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. shower — to wash
  14. present — the time now
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. snap — to click
  18. present — a gift
  19. shower — rain
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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