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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: stem · shower · date · pit · chest · pitcher · file · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a tool
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a line of people
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stem — to come from
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — to wash
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a document
  21. chest — of your body
  22. date — the fruit
  23. shower — rain
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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