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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: squash · face · field · shower · mate · hide

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mate — a friend
  3. squash — to crush
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mate — a partner
  6. face — part of the head
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — a subject
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — rain
  13. mate — to breed
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. face — to confront
  16. squash — the sport
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret

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