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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: shower · content · leaves · kid · chest · pass · face · field

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — for sport
  4. face — part of the head
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — rain
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — a permit
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. field — farmland
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. kid — child

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