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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: face · shower · board · bowl · last · wake · pop · pound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pop — music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pop — to visit
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. board — a committee
  16. last — final
  17. face — to confront
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — rain
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pop — soda
  23. board — to get on
  24. pound — to hit hard

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