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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: bass · chest · ground · bank · ball · shower · face · field

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — farmland
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bass — low music
  6. face — to point toward
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bass — the fish
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — a subject
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ground — the earth
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — a box
  17. bank — of a river
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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