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

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bank — for money
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — in cards
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — to come from
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bank — for money
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bank — of a river
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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