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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 · shower · dip · prune · coach · stem · game · squash

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. shower — to wash
  5. root — of a word
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. root — of a plant
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a match
  13. squash — the sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — to crush
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. root — the cause
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stem — to come from
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. dip — to sink
  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