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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 120 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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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: shower · ground · perch · face · fork · march · fine · deal

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fine — all right
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — the month
  10. ground — a position
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. march — music
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — to handle
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. march — the month

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