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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · tear · pit · shower · stem · jam

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pit — a hole
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tear — to rip
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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