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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 116 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: rest · stem · racket · shower · fall · mate · hide · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rest — a break
  11. fall — to drop
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — to come from
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — rain
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — a partner
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fall — the season

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