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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: spell · kick · shower · bat · stem · mine

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. shower — rain
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kick — in football
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — belonging to me

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