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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: stem · kick · spring · date · perch · shower · pitcher · current

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. current — happening now
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. shower — rain
  12. perch — the fish
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — the season
  19. stem — to come from
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pitcher — a jug

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