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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: dip · stem · rule · last · shower · ground · ball · row

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. dip — to sink
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — rain
  12. rule — government
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — a position
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. ball — a dance
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rule — a law
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stem — to come from
  24. ball — a round shape

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