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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: land · hand · face · bass · bore · bat · vault · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. hand — help
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — to confront
  7. bass — low music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bore — to drill
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bass — the fish
  19. hand — in cards
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bore — to tire
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hand — part of the body

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