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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: chest · leaves · bore · date · shower · arm · ground · spring

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. shower — rain
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. spring — the season
  12. ground — a position
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chest — a box
  18. date — the fruit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bore — to drill
  22. spring — of water
  23. shower — to wash
  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