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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: shower · rest · face · ground · sharp · stand · hand · coach

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — part of the head
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rest — what's left
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rest — a break
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. shower — rain
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stand — to bear
  15. ground — the earth
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — in cards
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. face — to confront
  21. hand — help
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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