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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: clip · hand · shower · mark · lean · toast · rash · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mark — a trace
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rash — hasty
  6. toast — bread
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stem — to come from
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rash — a series
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. lean — thin
  17. clip — a video
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. shower — to wash
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hand — help

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