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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. field — farmland
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. march — the month
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. shower — rain
  8. lie — to recline
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. march — music
  11. stem — to come from
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. field — for sport
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — a stem cell

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