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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: wave · bound · tear · temple · shower · cell · present · coach

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cell — a phone
  10. present — a gift
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bound — certain
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. shower — rain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — there
  23. bound — obliged
  24. present — the time now

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