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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: bowl · field · face · stock · rash · shower · lean · wind

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rash — hasty
  8. face — to confront
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — a subject
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lean — thin
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — farmland
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bowl — a football final

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