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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 120 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: shower · stem · kick · tear · cue · squash

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. squash — the sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tear — to rip
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — of a plant

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