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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: bark · stem · shower · pop · cell · net · fan · straw

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. net — in sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. net — after costs
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stem — to come from

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