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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: chair · root · shower · face · bound · lash · ball · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ground — a position
  6. root — of a word
  7. ball — a great time
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. face — to confront
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ground — crushed
  13. root — the cause
  14. bound — certain
  15. face — part of the head
  16. chair — a leader
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. face — to point toward
  24. shower — rain

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