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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: rock · rush · mouse · stem · cell · content · court · shower

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. court — for sport
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. court — of law
  10. content — the amount
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rock — a stone
  19. content — happy
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mouse — the animal

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