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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a music group
  3. game — a match
  4. can — a tin
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to confront
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. face — to point toward
  17. shower — rain
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. can — to be able to
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. can — a tin
  22. band — a ring
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. game — wild animals

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