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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. shower — to wash
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. band — a ring
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. foot — a measure
  13. face — to confront
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a music group
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. suit — in cards
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — rain
  22. pound — a weight
  23. suit — clothes
  24. foot — the bottom

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