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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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Word bank
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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: march · stem · shower · ball · trunk · bear

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bear — the animal
  3. shower — rain
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — to come from
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — music
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of a car

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