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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: bat · stand · shower · wave · wound · stem · temple · club

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stand — to bear
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. shower — rain
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wound — an injury

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