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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: bound · hand · mark · shower · roll · stem · wave · mate

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bound — certain
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mate — a partner
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bound — obliged
  19. roll — a list
  20. mate — a friend
  21. roll — a cake
  22. shower — rain
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. shower — to wash

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