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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.

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: spell · kick · shower · bat · stem · mine · craft · patient

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. craft — a skill
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. craft — boats
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kick — in football
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spell — a short time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spell — letters
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. shower — rain
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — a sick person

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