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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. shower — to wash
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bank — for money
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pop — to visit
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — the season
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bank — for money
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — in cards
  18. shower — rain
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bank — of a river
  23. pop — music
  24. coach — a trainer

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