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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 120 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: season · calf · stem · tear · wound · cap · wake · shower

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. cap — of ice
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — in sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. season — of the year
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. shower — to wash
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — a trail
  24. calf — of the leg

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