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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bound — obliged
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. tear — to rip
  11. land — ground
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — certain
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. land — to come down
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. land — a country
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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