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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 · tear · march · jam · mine · shower · deal · hand

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. march — music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. tear — from crying
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. shower — rain
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. deal — to handle
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — in cards
  20. face — to confront
  21. hand — help
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. face — part of the head
  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