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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: stem · shower · cue · bowl · mug · hide · ground · spring

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mug — a face
  3. cue — a signal
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ground — a position
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cue — for pool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cue — a hint
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mug — to rob
  13. spring — the season
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. ground — the earth
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — of water
  24. shower — rain

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