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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: bat · shower · pound · stock · face · club · bowl · leaves

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. pound — a weight
  4. face — to point toward
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. shower — rain
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bat — the animal
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. face — to confront
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. club — for golf

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