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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: sharp · temple · ground · rest · cell · shower · stem · squash

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — a position
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rest — what's left
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — to crush
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rest — a break
  17. cell — a phone
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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