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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fall — the season
  8. hand — in cards
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bank — of a river
  14. shower — rain
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. swing — in golf

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