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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: pop · land · shower · rash · mark · stem · spell · bound

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rash — a series
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spell — letters
  8. bound — certain
  9. rash — hasty
  10. land — to come down
  11. mark — a grade
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stem — to come from
  15. land — a country
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pop — soda
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pop — music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mark — a trace
  22. shower — to wash
  23. land — ground
  24. mark — to pay attention

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