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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: shower · track · stem · dip · spell · perch · net · season

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — letters
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. season — of the year
  6. spell — a short time
  7. net — after costs
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spell — magic
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. track — to keep track
  13. net — for catching
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — to sink
  17. track — a path
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. shower — to wash
  20. track — a song
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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