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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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Word bank
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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: tear · bowl · ground · shower · mug · cell

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mug — to rob
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mug — a face
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ground — the earth
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position

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