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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 120 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stand — to bear
  3. shower — to wash
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — shares
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bound — certain
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cell — in biology
  23. face — to confront
  24. shower — rain

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