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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 120 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: nail · face · swing · hand · dip · trunk · field · shower

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. swing — in golf
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — rain
  10. face — to confront
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — music
  13. hand — in cards
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. field — a subject
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. field — for sport
  22. dip — to sink
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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