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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: rest · bat · rush · stem · field · shower · temple · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rest — a break
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. temple — side of the head

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