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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: face · snap · shower · band · rock · kick · fan · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. face — to confront
  6. rock — a stone
  7. band — a ring
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rock — music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. face — to point toward
  21. snap — to click
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. game — a match

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