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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. file — a line of people
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. file — a tool
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. file — a document
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stem — to come from
  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