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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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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: stem · shower · kick · chip · object · tube · last · face

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. object — a thing
  7. shower — rain
  8. chip — for betting
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. last — final
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. last — to go on
  15. face — to confront
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kick — in football
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. object — an aim
  24. last — finally

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