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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: bulb · pound · ball · shower · sharp · snap · chest · stem

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. snap — to click
  4. shower — rain
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. sharp — clever
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bulb — for light
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bulb — of a plant

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