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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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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: fall · bay · saw · shower · toast · pound · stem · snap

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stem — to come from
  3. snap — to click
  4. toast — bread
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pound — a weight
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fall — the season
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. saw — the tool

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