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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: root · wound · cold · stand · shower · straw · cap · coach

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. root — of a word
  10. shower — rain
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — an injury
  15. shower — to wash
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. root — the cause
  24. cap — of ice

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