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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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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: stick · drill · mark · pass · shower · capital · root · cell

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. drill — army training
  3. shower — to wash
  4. root — of a plant
  5. capital — a city
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pass — a permit
  9. drill — the tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mark — a grade
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — money
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mark — a trace

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