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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: chair · cabinet · bank · field · shower · bass · face · spell

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spell — magic
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bank — of a river
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. shower — to wash
  11. face — to confront
  12. field — for sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — a subject
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. field — farmland
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bank — for money
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bank — for money
  24. shower — rain

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