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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bore — to tire
  3. face — to point toward
  4. shower — rain
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. face — to confront
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bore — to drill
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. net — in sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. net — for catching
  24. fan — to cool the 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