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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 · mark · stem · roll · tube · prune · root · band

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. band — a music group
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stem — to come from
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. roll — a list
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mark — a grade
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. root — of a word
  15. shower — rain
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. band — a ring
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stem — a stem cell

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