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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: leaves · stem · date · march · bore · shower · fall · hand

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. march — music
  3. fall — the season
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fall — to drop
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. march — the month
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bore — to tire
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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