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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — to point toward
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stem — to come from
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bore — to drill
  15. plane — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bore — to tire
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. face — to confront
  23. squash — the sport
  24. row — to paddle

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