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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 120 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 · game · mug · shower · spring · pitcher · bear · prune

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bear — the animal
  3. root — of a word
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. root — of a plant
  9. shower — to wash
  10. root — the cause
  11. mug — a cup
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mug — to rob
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitcher — a jug

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