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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: pound · chest · file · fan · shower · stem · present · ground

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — the time now
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. present — a gift
  9. file — a tool
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chest — a box
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ground — the earth
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. shower — rain
  20. stem — to come from
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — a position

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