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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · stem · hand · key · shower · mouse · wind · lie

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hand — help
  3. lie — to recline
  4. hand — in cards
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bulb — for light
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — rain
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stem — to come from
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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