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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. face — to confront
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pop — soda
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ground — crushed
  16. present — there
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bound — tied together
  20. face — part of the head
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — to come from
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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