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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: march · foot · chair · cap · shower · cell · face · drill

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. drill — the tool
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a hat
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. drill — a practice
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — army training
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cap — a lid

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