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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: shower · file · stem · last · board · cell · swing · toast

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — finally
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. shower — rain
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. toast — bread
  10. cell — in biology
  11. swing — music
  12. shower — to wash
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — to get on
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stem — to come from
  17. board — a committee
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — a phone
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — in golf
  22. last — to go on
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. last — final

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