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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — rain
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. court — for sport
  11. rush — hurry
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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