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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 116 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: drill · shower · staff · sharp · row · mine · bulb · root

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. root — the cause
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — to wash
  6. sharp — clever
  7. root — of a word
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bulb — for light
  11. staff — employees
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. drill — army training
  15. staff — employees
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. root — of a plant
  18. staff — a stick
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — rain
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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