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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 · row · mug · root · chest · pit · squash · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mug — a face
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pit — in a race
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — to rob
  19. row — to paddle
  20. shower — rain
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. root — of a plant
  24. squash — the vegetable

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