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

Word bank: stem · shower · lash · club · rest · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rest — a break
  6. stem — to come from
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. shower — rain
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rest — what's left

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