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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · cell · shower · face · wake · rest

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. shower — rain
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — a break
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cell — in biology

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