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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 124 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ball — a dance
  3. shower — to wash
  4. row — a line
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. stock — shares
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. ball — a great time
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stem — to come from
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — goods
  16. face — to confront
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. row — to paddle
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. craft — boats
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. face — part of the head
  24. jam — in traffic

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