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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: firm · wake · shower · stem · mine · chest · rash · march

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. firm — steady
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — of your body
  14. firm — decided
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. march — the month
  20. firm — a company
  21. march — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chest — of your body

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