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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — ground
  6. wax — to grow
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rest — a break
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fork — in a road
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pop — to visit
  22. face — to confront
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — soda

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