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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 120 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: row · temple · shower · trunk · root · hand · staff · spring

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — of a plant
  7. spring — the season
  8. root — of a word
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. staff — a stick
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — of water
  19. root — the cause
  20. hand — in cards
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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