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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: bear · march · shower · spring · stem · can · chest · stick

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. can — to be able to
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. can — a tin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — the month
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — a box
  12. can — a tin
  13. march — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spring — of water
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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