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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: shower · charge · stem · face · nail · cold · roll · field

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a list
  3. face — to confront
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. charge — electricity
  7. field — for sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. face — part of the head
  13. stem — to come from
  14. face — to point toward
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — an illness
  18. roll — a cake
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — a subject
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. shower — rain
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. charge — a price

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