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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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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: bound · court · shower · stem · rest · deal · wind · cell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cell — in biology
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bound — certain
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — obliged
  16. court — of a king
  17. stem — to come from
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wind — moving air

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