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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 · track · root · ground · file · dip · cue · hand

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. file — a line of people
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cue — a signal
  5. root — of a word
  6. shower — rain
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ground — the earth
  9. track — a song
  10. cue — a hint
  11. file — a tool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ground — a position
  19. root — the cause
  20. hand — help
  21. cue — for pool
  22. track — a path
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — in cards

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