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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: root · jam · stem · straw · rule · game · shower · clip

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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 — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — a match
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — the cause
  11. stem — to come from
  12. clip — for paper
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rule — government
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — wild animals
  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