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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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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. face — part of the head
  3. net — in sport
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. face — to point toward
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. root — the cause
  11. net — for catching
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to confront
  15. band — a music group
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. net — after costs
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. shower — rain
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mate — a friend

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