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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: shower · fall · pop · face · fork · bore · stock · present

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pop — music
  3. shower — to wash
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pop — to visit
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — goods
  12. shower — rain
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — soda
  16. face — part of the head
  17. present — the time now
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. face — to confront
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fall — the season
  24. fork — a garden 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