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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: face · root · kick · nail · mate · prune · shower · pass

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. face — to confront
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. face — to point toward
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. mate — to breed
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mate — a friend
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. face — part of the head
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. root — the cause
  17. pass — a permit
  18. shower — rain
  19. mate — a partner
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. shower — to wash
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pass — to spend time

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