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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. kid — child
  7. bank — for money
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. spell — magic
  12. bank — for money
  13. hand — help
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to point toward

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