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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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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: stem · shower · net · firm · mark · tear · stick · cold

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — for catching
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. firm — steady
  8. mark — a grade
  9. firm — decided
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. firm — a company
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. net — in sport
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cold — not warm

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