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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: shower · root · cue · fan · mate · sharp · deal · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mate — a friend
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cue — a hint
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cue — a signal
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. root — of a word
  20. cue — for pool
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mate — to breed

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