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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: nail · foot · wound · shower · present · stem · capital · bear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. present — there
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. present — the time now
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — rain
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. foot — a measure
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — money
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. present — a gift

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