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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: nail · dip · face · lean · row · jam · shower · chest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — to paddle
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — a box
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. face — to confront
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chest — of your body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. face — to point toward
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. row — a line
  24. dip — to sink

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