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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: bound · shower · nail · stock · racket · chest · root · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bound — obliged
  3. chest — a box
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bound — certain
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ground — crushed
  10. root — of a word
  11. chest — of your body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a plant
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bound — tied together
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. root — the cause
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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