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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: bay · stem · tear · shower · bound · march · last · arm

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — to go on
  4. shower — rain
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bound — obliged
  14. last — finally
  15. bound — tied together
  16. march — the month
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. march — music
  21. last — final
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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