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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rash — hasty
  5. shower — rain
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. capital — money
  13. board — a committee
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. board — to get on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rash — a series
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — to wash
  24. board — a flat piece

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