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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: season · ground · shower · stem · band · spell · kick · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — a position
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. shower — to wash
  11. season — of the year
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. shower — rain
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. spell — magic
  16. season — in sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ground — crushed
  20. band — a music group
  21. ground — the earth
  22. band — a ring
  23. spell — letters
  24. rule — a law

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