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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · band · face · perch · mine · stem · shower · spring

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. band — a music group
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stem — to come from
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. shower — rain
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. band — a ring
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. face — to confront
  21. mine — for digging
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. root — the cause
  24. stem — of a plant

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