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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — a phone
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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