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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. stem — of a plant
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. stem — to come from
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bass — low music
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bass — the fish
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a city
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. shower — rain
  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