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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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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: bay · mine · root · shower · stem · capital · dip · fork

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. root — of a word
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. capital — a city
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. root — the cause
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. dip — to sink

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