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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: face · bank · shower · race · net · lean · bat · spell

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — a short time
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. face — part of the head
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. net — for catching
  12. bank — for money
  13. race — the arms race
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. shower — rain
  17. bank — of a river
  18. race — humankind
  19. net — after costs
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bank — for money
  24. shower — to wash

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