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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · kick · capital · pound · content · shower

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. face — to confront
  3. pound — a weight
  4. shower — rain
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. capital — money
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. content — happy
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — a city
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pound — to hit hard

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