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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: land · bat · fall · mug · shower · stem · court · roll

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. court — for sport
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. roll — a list
  5. shower — rain
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. court — of a king
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — ground
  13. shower — to wash
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. roll — a cake
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mug — a face
  23. fall — the season
  24. stem — to come from

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