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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: lie · shower · cap · face · court · charge · band · pitcher

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. court — for sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — electricity
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. charge — a price
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. face — to point toward
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a music group

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