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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: safe · shower · snap · stem · scale · last · date · stick

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. last — final
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — to go on
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — rain
  9. date — the fruit
  10. snap — to click
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. last — finally
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stem — to come from
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. shower — to wash
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — in music
  24. safe — out of danger

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