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

Word bank: drill · season · chip · band · pound · face · shower · pit

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — a practice
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. shower — rain
  7. pit — in a race
  8. band — a ring
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chip — for betting
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chip — to eat
  15. face — to confront
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. band — a music group
  19. season — in sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pit — a hole
  22. drill — army training
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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