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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 · arm · mine · shower · field · rush · chip · mug

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — to confront
  3. chip — for betting
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rush — hurry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. field — farmland
  8. shower — rain
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. mug — a face
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. field — for sport
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chip — to eat
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mug — a cup

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