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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: straw · bulb · lean · shower · wake · chest · cell · stem

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. chest — a box
  3. cell — a phone
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bulb — for light
  22. lean — to bend
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — in biology

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