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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · lean · shower · face · drill · march · chest · chair

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. drill — army training
  9. land — a country
  10. drill — a practice
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — to come down
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lean — thin
  19. face — part of the head
  20. land — ground
  21. march — music
  22. face — to confront
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. shower — rain

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