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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 120 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: field · kick · race · wake · wave · stem · shower · tube

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. shower — to wash
  5. field — for sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tube — the underground
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — farmland
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. field — a subject
  21. race — humankind
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. stem — a stem cell

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