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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: bowl · stem · shower · cell · rock · tube · lean · hide

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. shower — rain
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — thin
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — a container
  18. lean — to bend
  19. stem — to come from
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tube — in a tire

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