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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · last · band · season · stick · wake · bark · stem

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — final
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a ring
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. season — in sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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