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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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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: snap · drill · content · wake · pit · face · date · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — part of the head
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. date — the fruit
  5. shower — rain
  6. face — to confront
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — happy
  16. wake — a trail
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. drill — army training
  19. face — to point toward
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — a hole

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