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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: fall · nail · fork · temple · shower · clip · stem · firm

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. shower — rain
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. firm — decided
  7. stem — to come from
  8. firm — a company
  9. fork — in a road
  10. clip — a video
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. firm — steady
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fall — to drop
  24. shower — to wash

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