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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: mine · hand · stem · dip · ruler · roll · wound · shower

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wound — an injury
  5. roll — a cake
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stem — to come from
  17. shower — rain
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. dip — to sink
  22. hand — help
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. roll — a list

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