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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: chest · face · mug · shower · hand · rush · scale · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. chest — a box
  3. shower — to wash
  4. scale — in music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — size or range
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mug — to rob
  11. land — a country
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — help
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — to confront
  21. mug — a cup
  22. shower — rain
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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