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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: bear · field · wound · face · shower · roll · squash · ball

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — part of the head
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. face — to confront
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wound — an injury
  18. roll — a list
  19. ball — a great time
  20. field — farmland
  21. ball — a dance
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. roll — a cake

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