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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 · bowl · rash · hand · coach · nail · shower · leaves

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rash — hasty
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — rain
  6. face — part of the head
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rash — a series
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — to confront
  16. hand — help
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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