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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: content · shower · row · wound · rule · foot · face · current

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. foot — a measure
  3. content — the amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — to paddle
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. current — happening now
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. face — part of the head
  19. content — happy
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. rule — government
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. face — to confront

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