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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: stem · clip · shower · cell · season · rash · sharp · ruler

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. clip — a video
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rash — hasty
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. season — in sport
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cell — a phone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. rash — a series
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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