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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 120 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: coach · shower · dip · spell · stem · perch · ground · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. spell — magic
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chest — a box
  11. shower — rain
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — to wash
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ground — a position
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. coach — a trainer

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