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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: wave · stem · shower · prune · net · game · present · can

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. game — a match
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stem — to come from
  8. shower — rain
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. net — after costs
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — wild animals
  19. present — a gift
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. present — the time now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. can — to be able to

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