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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 · ball · root · cap · arm · band · stock · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. band — a music group
  3. stock — goods
  4. cap — a lid
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ball — a great time
  9. shower — rain
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. root — of a plant
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. root — of a word
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ball — a dance
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a ring
  24. root — the cause

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