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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 116 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: pound · spell · sharp · file · stem · shower · mark · face

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mark — a grade
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — a weight
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spell — magic
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mark — a trace
  20. sharp — clever
  21. spell — letters
  22. file — a line of people
  23. spell — a short time
  24. file — a tool

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