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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 · fine · rest · shower · foot · last · present · stem

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — rain
  3. foot — a measure
  4. last — to go on
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. present — a gift
  8. fine — all right
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. last — finally
  13. rest — what's left
  14. present — the time now
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. shower — to wash
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. last — final
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — there
  24. stem — to come from

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