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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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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: spring · stem · trunk · sharp · shower · wound · race · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. shower — rain
  16. race — a contest
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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