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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: rush · field · root · drill · toast · date · shower · stick

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. root — the cause
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. toast — bread
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. drill — army training
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. field — for sport
  23. root — of a word
  24. shower — to wash

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