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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: wound · shower · stand · march · mate · bark · hand · face

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — to shout
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — in cards
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stand — to bear
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. face — to confront
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. face — to point toward

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