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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — for sport
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. court — of a king
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. swing — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. court — of law
  17. face — to confront
  18. swing — in golf

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