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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. shower — to wash
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cell — a phone
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bound — obliged
  12. toast — bread
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bound — certain
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pound — for dogs

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